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Biotic, abiotic and performance aspects of the Nevada Desert Free‐Air CO 2 Enrichment (FACE) Facility
Author(s) -
Jordan DeaN. N.,
Zitzer Stephen F.,
Hendrey George R.,
Lewin Keith F.,
Nagy JohN.,
Nowak Robert S.,
Smith Stanley D.,
Coleman James S.,
Seemann Jeffrey R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
global change biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.146
H-Index - 255
eISSN - 1365-2486
pISSN - 1354-1013
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2486.1999.00255.x
Subject(s) - larrea , environmental science , arid , shrub , abiotic component , desert (philosophy) , atmospheric sciences , carbon dioxide , hydrology (agriculture) , ecology , biology , geology , philosophy , geotechnical engineering , epistemology
Summary Arid and semiarid climates comprise roughly 40% of the earth’s terrestrial surface. Deserts are predicted to be extremely responsive to global change because they are stressful environments where small absolute changes in water availability or use represent large proportional changes. Water and carbon dioxide fluxes are inherently coupled in plant growth. No documented global change has been more substantial or more rapid than the increase in atmospheric CO 2 . Free Air CO 2 Enrichment (FACE) technology permits manipulation of CO 2 in intact communities without altering factors such as light intensity or quality, humidity or wind. The Nevada Desert FACE Facility (NDFF) consists of three 491 m 2 plots in the Mojave Desert receiving 550 μL L –1 CO 2 , and six ambient plots to assess both CO 2 and fan effects. The shrub community was characterized as a Larrea–Ambrosia–Lycium species complex. Data are reported through 12 months of operation.